Ho Chi Minh City Police Seek Victims of 20-Year-Old Man Who Posed with Luxury Cars to Scam Women

Ho Chi Minh City police are actively searching for victims of Tran Thanh Duy, a 20-year-old man arrested and charged with property fraud. Duy allegedly used images of himself with luxury vehicles to create a facade of wealth and deceive unsuspecting women.

According to initial investigations, Duy's modus operandi involved posing as a wealthy and stylish individual to approach and befriend women online. He would then exploit their trust to commit fraud. In one instance, Duy met a woman identified as Ms. N. through Facebook in May 2026. He reportedly borrowed 200,000 Vietnamese dong from her to build credibility.

Later, Duy met Ms. N. in person and they rented a room for the night. During their stay, Duy claimed he needed to purchase a phone on installment and borrowed Ms. N.'s iPhone 17 Pro Max, along with her iCloud account and password. He then pretended to take a phone call outside and fled the scene in a taxi back to his hometown in Tay Ninh province.

While escaping, Duy removed the SIM card and sold the stolen iPhone for 26 million Vietnamese dong. He then used 16.5 million dong to purchase an iPhone 15 Pro Max for his own use, spending the remaining money on personal expenses. Ms. N. reported the incident to the police on May 28, and Duy was apprehended shortly thereafter, admitting to the fraud.

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To be able to spend money for personal use, the suspect often posted photos on social media with many expensive car lines like Mercedes, BMW. This is to build a 'shell' of a rich and stylish tycoon to approach, get acquainted with and then scam gullible girls.